Tricks to keep Halloween sweet — but not too sweet

Oh, the sweet treats that come from trick-or-treating, school parties and neighborhood gatherings on Halloween! Halloween actually is a great opportunity for kids to learn about moderation of tasty treats and that it’s okay to indulge in a few treats on Halloween. That is part of the fun. It’s our day-to-day, overall eating habits have the biggest impact on our health.

Here are tips and tricks to keep your Halloween sweet, but not too sweet:

• Eat a meal before trick-or-treating. Fill the family up with a meal or snack before heading out the door for trick-or-treating so they are less likely to raid their candy bags before getting home. Once they get home, the Green Monster Smoothie recipe below is a better-for-you sweet treat to offer before digging into treat bags.

• At get-togethers, offer non-candy treats such as fruit leather, trail mix, sugar-free gum, coins, pencils, stickers, glow sticks or even rubber spiders and worms. The Skeleton and Brain Dip recipe below is a fun way to encourage vegetables. Kids won’t be able to stay away from the skeleton — soon they’ll be fighting over who gets the sugar snap pea ribs and the carrot leg bones!

• Talk about how your family will use up the rest of the treats. When you do eat treats, try to include them as part of a meal rather than snack on them between meals. Agree on an amount of treats to enjoy and decide how long to keep the treats around.